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One of the interesting sites to be seen, is the South African
wine industry, which is more than three hundred years old.
These wines were unavailable on the world market, however,
during the sanctions, during the early 1900, and between
the year 1986 and 1991, these wines have been sold outside
the country.
With the recent democratic elections and subsequent lifting
of sanctions, top estates in South Africa now supply the
US market. All of South Africa's wines are produced in the
Western Cape region. This wine industry is relatively small
compared to the other wine producing nations.
According to South African Wine Guide, South Africa ranks
18th in the world in terms of acreage, but 8th in the world
in terms of output, accounting for about 3.7% of international
wine production.There are 253, 241 acres under vine in the
Cape region. In volume South Africa exports about 8% of
its production. The total crop amounts to 270 million gallons
with about 51% made into wine.
There are approximately 78 estates and 97 independent cellars
in the Cape region.
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